Upgrade to X from Y for young family?

[XerxesS]

Good morning!

Sorry for the personalized question, but hopefully it can help others.

We bought a MY 7-seater last year - current version, with tax credit, is ~18k less than we paid. Oh well. But with the price reductions on the X, we're considering trading it in.

In any event, we're debating upgrading to an X, and would love any thoughts or feedback. Major reasons would be:
-additional space (we have two young kids, potentially adding another, plus a dog, so on roadtrips the Y is pretty packed)
-backseat screen, drive quality (my son and wife get car sick)
-acceleration (vroom)
-FWD (fun times)

Major questions are:
-this may be the last year we qualify for tax credit, but there's no way to do the 6 or 7 seaters and still get it, right?
-any thoughts on 6 vs 7 seat for families?
-thoughts on trade-in vs. independent sale of current MY?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Mr. Majestic]

Also considering moving from our MY 7 seater to a Model X due to space concerns with our young family.

I will say, for us the only option is the 6 Seater. You don't get enough foot space in the transition for the 7 seater X to work. However, due to the width difference, the captain chairs in the second row of the 6 Seater are so far out that you end up getting third town foot room not possible in any other configuration.

My only gripe is that for some reason the easy entry mode in the 6 Seater defaults back to the furthest back point each time you use it. This would basically crush someone's feet/legs. So either need to tell the kids to move their legs out of the way or have them go through the middle isle to the back but if your kids are young enough to not be able to buckle themselves, this becomes a problem.

From our test fitting of car seats in a six seater, it does feel like you get significantly more space all around over the 7 seater Y. It's not an amazing difference but it's a welcome one.

 

[scottf200]

Re: 6 vs 7 seat for families
I've had two 6 seaters -- leg room from 3rd row and for kids it'd be great that they can get to the 3rd row between the two 2nd row seats [aside we currently have a fridge in ours for roadtrips at that location]

Re: My only gripe is that for some reason the easy entry mode in the 6 Seater defaults back to the furthest back point each time you use it.
My memory is that easy entry is just another profile and you can customize it then save it.

Tesla Easy Entry: Simple Set Up Steps

June 11, 2023 | Tesla’s Easy Entry feature gives drivers extra space so they can slide in and out of their vehicle easily. When in Park with the driver’s

evehiclepro.com

 

[EbS-P]

Rear facing seats in second row 6 seater can only fit behind passenger and then your passenger up front better be less than 5’6”.

Changed out to a front facing this week and it’s much easier. Kids shut the FWDs on me once a week or I smash the fob and hit myself with them. Kia EV9 seems like the more practical choice.

Kids grow. Use the tax credit while you can. You could always lease??

 

[Bigriver]

-this may be the last year we qualify for tax credit, but there's no way to do the 6 or 7 seaters and still get it, right?

That is correct as far as I can see. It has to be a 5 seater with black interior.

 

[Unclepaul]

Being able to take the $7,500 tax credit would make this a great option. Current pricing might even tempt you to get a PLAID!

The X was designed for people with families. Not only is there more room inside, but those Falcon Wing doors make loading and unloading kid seats and kids easy.

In addition, the X has a smoother ride, quieter interior, and more luxury touches.

I would think that life with the X would be better than with the Y.

 

[Mr. Majestic]

Re: 6 vs 7 seat for families
I've had two 6 seaters -- leg room from 3rd row and for kids it'd be great that they can get to the 3rd row between the two 2nd row seats [aside we currently have a fridge in ours for roadtrips at that location]

Re: My only gripe is that for some reason the easy entry mode in the 6 Seater defaults back to the furthest back point each time you use it.
My memory is that easy entry is just another profile and you can customize it then save it.

Tesla Easy Entry: Simple Set Up Steps

June 11, 2023 | Tesla’s Easy Entry feature gives drivers extra space so they can slide in and out of their vehicle easily. When in Park with the driver’s

evehiclepro.com

I'm referring to the second roe's captain chairs easy entry feature. This article discusses the driver seat easy entry.

However, that does give me an idea that maybe the issue could still be related. Maybe there is a way to save the second row seat position like the driver. Doubt it but will try.

 

[scottf200]

I'm referring to the second roe's captain chairs easy entry feature. This article discusses the driver seat easy entry.

However, that does give me an idea that maybe the issue could still be related. Maybe there is a way to save the second row seat position like the driver. Doubt it but will try.

Re: My memory is that easy entry is just another profile and you can customize it then save it.
I was pointing to the article that confirmed there is a unique profile called Easy Entry and has its own seat savings. Yes, thus I was already suggesting the idea of all seats since that is what was stated (non-drivers seat).

 

[EbS-P]

In our 6 seat MX my 7 year old has difficulties buckling the seat belt in the 3rd row.

And I will say once you have a car seat in the second row you can’t easily reach back to the third to help.

I don’t see the difference moving car seats in and out Vs a minivan. Maybe if you had to go to the center second row. But then most of the time for is there is already a kid in the way. I don’t think it was ever thought about for families. My kids still after 18 months can’t figure out if their vent is open or not. I just drive almost 6k miles in our Honda for two different trips one 14 days one 7. No way once could even contemplate this trip with 3+ kids in a MX. A family of 4 could do it.

 

[Sambub]

I’d love to trade my booming rattle trap MY for a nicer car, possibly a MX or Xi. Wish I had spent the xtra $$$ and bought the Xi in the first place….thought about it. Instead, I overpaid massively for the Y ($68k) and less than a year later, car is worth $43k.

If were to get a Model X right now, I will be spending an extra $25k to make up for the savage depreciation, so cost of the new X is $93k, not $68k. No thanks.

What’s your MY depreciation lookin like?

 

[Joe-FV]

Don’t you lose the option to fold all the seats down in a six seater? That would be a deal breaker for me, it’s not often you need it but when you do…
how else does one move large items without hauling a trailer? The flat deck of all seats folded down is invaluable when we taxi our older kids to and from college.

 

[XerxesS]

Can someone else confirm the 7 vs 6 lay flat seating? We were thinking the gap between the captains chairs could be useful, but maybe not?

Sambub - almost the same. After all costs, it was about 67k, and trade-in value is 38k....yikes.

Honestly leaning toward no, but hopefully something fun will come up at the end of the year

 

[Ron97062]

I chose the 5-seat configuration for my family of five (parents plus three teens). The legroom from the second row is fine for three people. But with the 6 and 7-seat config, whomever is in the far back would have to angle their legs to the center to fit. Plus, the 5-seat config has tons of storage.

Plus, only the 5-seat config qualifies for the $7500 federal tax rebate at the time I write this (5-seat config is $79,900, tax credit only goes to $80K).

 

[btpdx]

We had a 3 and a 7 seater Y but just traded the 3 for a X plaid. While the Y 7 seater is useful it’s like gymnastics getting into the third row. The X plaid only comes in 6 seats and ingress/egress is so easy. You don’t even have to move the middle seats up, just climp in and go in between the two middle row captain chairs. The falcon wing doors has made it so much easier to get our 4 yr old into her car seats. No more bumping her head or hurting our backs with the 3. The 3rd row in the X plaid/6 seater is much more comfy than the Y. One cool thing is if you have a front facing car seat in the middle row, you can still move it up to let people into the 3rd row without having to remove the car seat since the entire seat tilts forward. Daughter loves the rear screen and you can control it from the front screen if you’re in park. So far no regrets.

 

[TespaceX]

Definitely not the 6 seat.

The inability to flat fold second row seats is a huge deal breaker for us. And, once you put a car seat into one of the two second row seats of a 6-seat X, it’s similarly inconvenient to get into the third row, taking away the benefit of having that middle seat space open.

If tax credit is a factor, then the 5-seat X is obviously the correct choice. Though, do know on the flip side that the resale value of 5-seat X tend to be quite a bit lower than the resale value of a 6-seater or 7-seater X.

The FWD is a big benefit in the winter. Your kids won’t get snowed or rained on when you open the doors

 

[cloudy682]

Had 2 kids (2 and 4 YO) when I bought my 2018 X 6 seater, and now have 3 kids (1.5, 6 and 9 YO) and just bought another 2023 X Plaid (yes to take advantage of FSD transfer) -- while keeping the 2018. Also had a 2020 Model Y leased which we just returned. So had plenty of time to compare and contrast:

- Carseats - infant/booster/conv, all so much easier to put the kids in/out of the 2nd row. The height opening of the FWD makes it soooo much easier and more natural than the Y. Once they got bigger, putting a booster in the 3rd row was easy.

- Versatility of the 6 seater: two older kids can hang out in 3rd row, wife and baby in 2nd row, or wife in front, and all of them in the back, or 1 seat in 3rd row folded down to carry all that sports equipment on the weekends or for road trips. There's just so many scenarios that the 6 seater X is fit for (barring any need to carry a mattress or big screen TV).

- Comfort -- going from the X to the Y, back to the X, you'll notice the biggest thing is suspension comfort/quality - the X just soaks up bumps and imperfections so much better that the overall experience is so much better.

 

[unowned]

We have both a 6 and 7 seater X. Both have pretty good space in the rear for headroom. Often times the grandparents jump in the back during kids sport events and they have no issues getting or out with the FWDs. We love that the 7 seater fits our dogs in the middle row and kids on trips where the 6 seater just looks nicer and is just quicker getting in and out of it. There is also more space under the middle row of the 6 seater and the free space in the middle is good for stretching out. We've used the 7 seater folded flat for getting rid of a memory foam queen mattress folding in half to the dump.